What is biowarfare? - interntional use of disease causing organisms or products of organisms to infect
populations to attain a militaty objective
What is bioterrorism? - Used to infect humans, other animals or plants in order to cause unrest and
panic or instigate a crime
Why use biologics as a weapon? - -Cheap compared to bombs, missles, etc
-capable of reaching intended target
-cause limited collateral damage
-weapon has to result in the desired outcome, death
History of biowarfare: Romans - Romans threw dead animals into wells to poison people.
Hannibal catapulted pots with snakes in them onto ships.
Bodies hurdled into Caffa by attacking mongolians army
History of biowarfare: pontiacs rebellion - (french and indian war)
English gave smallpox blankets to the french
History of biowarfare: WW1 - -germans secretly used bacteria that cause glanders and anthrax to infect
draft animals so supplies cant replenish armys supplies
Geneva protocol of 1925 - 29 nations signed, prohibition of the use of gas and biological methods during
war.
US, Japan, Germany, Russia, Britain still developed biologic agents
Biological and toxin weapons convention - (BWC) 1972
-Treaty but had no enforcememt.
-Banned all biologics for offensive purposes
, -destruction of supplies
-you can still study the agents for defensive purposes
Attributes of biological weapons - ease to get it,
ease of dissemination,
undetected (tasteless, odorless, invisible), no effect on infrastructure, cause fear and panic, cheap, can
engineer to make worse, high morbidity/mortality
Disadvantages of a biological weapon - Morally/ethically bad, loss of control, can harm yourself, how to
distribute it
What happens in an over bioterrorism event? - Announced that its being sent.
People fall ill/die.
Hoaxes are considered real.
What happens in a cover bioterrorist event? - Unannounced.
People fall ill/die.
Unusual clustering or geographical distribution of said agent.
How to categorize biological weapons - ease to obtain, ease to dissiminate, efficient human to human
transmission, high morbidity/mortality
Category A - Much worse.
High mortality, easily transmitted, cause panic.
Plague, smallpox, anthrax, ebola, tularemia
Category B - Aint so bad.
Moderately easy to disseminate, moderate morbidity, low mortality.
Q fever, typhus, brucellosis, castor beans (ricin), red tide algea
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